Another day, another blunder for Kotaku. The "gaming" website, infamous for its clickbait tactics and complete lack of any journalistic integrity, has been caught spreading misinformation again—this time about YouTube megastar MrBeast.
In an article written by Zack Zwiezen, originally titled “MrBeast: Life Is 'So Much Easier When You're Broke'”, Kotaku grossly misquoted MrBeast in what looks like yet another desperate attempt to spin a sensational headline for clicks.
What Really Happened?
MrBeast, or IRL, Jimmy Donaldson, recently sat down for an interview on The Diary of a CEO podcast, at around the 45 minute mark, discussing his struggles with health, the pressures of fame, and the obsessive work ethic that has propelled him to global stardom. In the interview, he made a simple comment about how life was easier without constant travel and overwhelming obligations. However, Kotaku took a provided transcript at face value—without any proper verification—and falsely ran with the narrative that claimed MrBeast said life was “so much easier when you’re broke.”
The reality? He actually said:
“It is like, so much easier when you're— bro, if you don't travel constantly, life is so easy...”
Nowhere in his statement did he imply that being broke was preferable. He was discussing the logistical challenges of maintaining his high-profile lifestyle... He wasn't making some kind of sweeping statement glorifying poverty. But, as usual, Kotaku of course jumped at the chance to twist his words and then blame someone else as soon as it came back on them.
Kotaku’s Damage Control Fails Again
After swift backlash and a community note correcting the misquote, Kotaku scrambled to edit their article. The correction, added on March 1, 2025, at 12:50 p.m. ET, read:
“A prior version of this article incorrectly quoted MrBeast as saying ‘easier when you’re broke’ when speaking about the challenges of his current lifestyle. The misquote came from a transcript provided by PR for the Diary of a CEO podcast ahead of the episode’s airing. MrBeast has since clarified his statement in a post on X/Twitter, and we’ve updated the quote and the article’s headline accordingly.”
Despite this, Kotaku has refused to delete the original tweet promoting their misleading headline.
Instead, it remains up, now hysterically flagged by a community note stating:
“MrBeast did not say Life is 'so much easier when you're broke'. More precisely, he said 'It is like, so much easier when you're— bro, if you don't travel, constantly, life is so easy [...]”
Rather than own up to their complete failure to fact-check, Kotaku simply buried a correction in their article while keeping the misleading framing alive.
Kotaku’s Pattern of Dishonesty
This isn’t a one-time mistake. Far from it actually... Kotaku has long had a reputation for prioritizing engagement over accuracy, often pushing narratives that serve their ideological slant rather than reporting facts. Whether it's their ridiculous history of spreading misinformation about game developers, attacking gaming communities, or even here now taking cheap shots at high-profile influencers, Kotaku continues to prove time and time again that any integrity is an afterthought.
This latest incident isn’t just an embarrassing mistake—it’s indicative of a wider problem in so-called games journalism. If Kotaku can’t be trusted to report basic facts about an interview that’s publicly available, how could anyone take their gaming coverage seriously?
The Real Reason Kotaku Targeted MrBeast
Let’s be honest: Kotaku was eager to push this narrative because it fits their old and extremely tired agenda. MrBeast, despite his philanthropic efforts and positive influence, is an easy target for these click-driven vultures. They saw an opportunity to twist his words for outrage clicks, and they took it—without a shred of concern for accuracy.
If Kotaku had even the bare minimum of journalistic standards, they would have verified the quote before running with it. Honestly not even asking that much. Instead, no. They leapt at the chance to misrepresent MrBeast because they knew a misleading headline would generate traffic. A dying former industry tentpole... on its way down.
Final Thoughts
At this point, Kotaku has lost all credibility—not just as a gaming news outlet, but as a publication in general. Some could argue they lost that years ago and somehow still have a platform to keep pushing. Their eagerness to twist facts, push narratives, and sacrifice truth for engagement is on full display yet again. MrBeast, a content creator who has dedicated much of his career to charitable efforts, didn’t deserve this blatant misrepresentation. No one does. But to Kotaku, the truth has never been as important as the clicks.
The only real question left is:
How many more times does Kotaku need to be exposed before people stop taking them seriously?
~Smash
